Television

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Television has been accepted by most Mennonites but with uneasiness caused by its images of violence, immorality, and materialism. Most recognize it as a powerful medium of communication that should be used for evangelism and Christian teaching.

The Brethren in Christ, whose General Conference had once banned photography, opted in 1951 to use education to control the negative power of television, warning its members to use television with care.

Kauffman and Harder in the 1972 study of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ life found that adult church members were watching television 1.2 hours a day and 27 percent admitted that television ads influenced their buying practices. A latter study in 1989 found that 94 percent of Mennonites owned at least one television set, and almost half had VCRs. In 1976, Joe Bridges, media consultant for the United States Mennonite Brethren conference, said that the negative impact of television could be overcome "if we realize the potential of television and use it to reach people where they are."

Discussion of the use of television during the last quarter century has focused on its disciplined use. In 1961, Mennonite Broadcasts asked its people to commend the television industry for "its constructive programs in religious and educational fields and in reducing objectionable features such as hard liquor advertising" and to ask for "further steps to improve its programming." In early 1977 the Mennonite (General Conference Mennonite Church) and Gospel Herald (Mennonite Church) sponsored a series of critical articles by Larry Kehler who urged concern for "the battle between the beautiful potential of our children and the wild beast which lurks within an untamed television set."